Alameda: Course teaches skills for waterfront jobs

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A worker rides past a ship as it is sandblasted at Bay Ship and Yacht in Alameda, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015. Bay Ship, a business that specializes in the repair and building of commercial and military vessels, will partner with the College of Alameda to provide a program in maritime education. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

Welders get ready to work i the welding department at Bay Ship and Yacht in Alameda, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015. Bay Ship, a business that specializes in the repair and building of commercial and military vessels, will partner with the College of Alameda to provide a program in maritime education. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

Bill Elliott, left, founder of Bay Ship & Yacht, and Dr. Joi Lin Blake, new College of Alameda president, sign an agreement at Bay Ship and Yacht in Alameda, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015. Bay Ship, a business that specializes in the repair and building of commercial and military vessels, will partner with the College of Alameda to provide a program in maritime education. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

Sandblaster Nathan Reynolds heads to work on a ship at Bay Ship and Yacht in Alameda, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015. Bay Ship, a business that specializes in the repair and building of commercial and military vessels, will partner with the College of Alameda to provide a program in maritime education. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

ALAMEDA — Representatives from College of Alameda and Bay Ship & Yacht say they will encourage veterans, people who used to be homeless, and people on probation to enroll in a job skills class they are launching this fall on the Oakland-Alameda Estuary.

The class, which will be open to anyone wishing to hone their skills or anyone who wants a job along the waterfront, will teach students maritime painting.

“There’s a big demand for painters and other workers, and we are regularly hiring,” said the shipyard’s Chris Rochette, who helped develop the class. “But we also hope to eventually expand the class to teach welding and other skills.”

The on-site class will be limited to 25 students and will take place four days a week over one month. Tuition will be $112, and financial aid will be available for eligible students. Students who complete the course will get two units of credit that are transferable to the California State University system.

“We are beyond excited about this partnership,” said Char Perlas, the dean of workforce development and applied sciences at College of Alameda.

Those who traditionally have a difficult time finding work, such as those with criminal records, will be encouraged to enroll in the class, officially called AUTOB 49, Perlas said.

“They are the people we are targeting,” she said.

LaDonna Harris, Alameda County’s chief probation officer, said many of the cases her department handles involve people who have “tremendous baggage” as they seek employment.

“What I see here is an opportunity for someone who never had a career before to have a career,” Harris said.

More than 13,000 men and women are on probation in Alameda County, according to officials. Most have been convicted of property or drug offenses.

“They come with a lack of experience about how to be present in the workplace,” Harris said.

Rochette and fellow shipyard employee Dinah Swanson said they modeled the class on the Harbor Island Training Center in Seattle. The center offers classes in welding and other skills and is a partnership between South Seattle Community College and Vigor Industrial, a leading maritime company in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest.

Students trained through College of Alameda will learn how to mix paint so that it best protects a ship from salt water and the weather and how to sandblast and prepare a surface before applying it, Rodriguez said.

The 38-year-old shipyard at 2900 Main St. in Alameda builds and repairs commercial and military vessels, as well as luxury yachts. College of Alameda, part of the Peralta Community College District, also offers classes in aviation maintenance, auto mechanics and other job skills.

Among those on hand Jan. 8 when college and shipyard representatives signed a memorandum of understanding for the maritime class, was Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty. He welcomed plans for veterans to be among those encouraged to enroll.

“I think the collaboration between College of Alameda and Bay Ship & Yacht will make sure they come home to jobs and money and the opportunity to succeed in the United States of America, which is what they fought for,” Haggerty said.

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